Rorty, Richard

Philosophy and the mirror of nature by Richard Rorty ( Book )
65 editions published between 1979 and 2009 in 7 languages and held by 1,874 libraries worldwide
30 years ago Richard Rorty argued that philosophers had developed an unhealthy obsession with the notion of representation: comparing the mind to a mirror that reflects reality. The book now stands as a classic of 20th-century philosophy.

Contingency, irony, and solidarity by Richard Rorty ( Book )
40 editions published between 1989 and 2009 in 11 languages and held by 1,439 libraries worldwide
American philosopher Richard Rorty argues that thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein have enabled societies to see themselves as historical contingencies, rather than as expressions of underlying, ahistorical human nature, or as realizations of suprahistorical goals. This ironic perspective on the human condition is valuable but it cannot advance Liberalism's social and political goals. In fact, Rorty believes that it is literature and not philosophy that can do this, by promoting a genuine sense of human solidarity. Specifically, it is novelists such as Orwell and Nabokov who succeed in awakening us to the cruelty of particular social practices and individual attitudes. Thus, a truly liberal culture would fuse the private, individual freedom of the ironic, philosophical perspective with the public project of human solidarity as it is engendered through the insights and sensibilities of great writers. Rorty uses a wide range of references - from philosophy to social theory to literary criticism - to elucidate his beliefs.

The linguistic turn; recent essays in philosophical method by Richard Rorty ( Book )
6 editions published between 1967 and 1990 in English and Spanish and held by 1,242 libraries worldwide

Consequences of pragmatism : essays, 1972-1980 by Richard Rorty ( Book )
33 editions published between 1982 and 2008 in 5 languages and held by 1,225 libraries worldwide

Achieving our country : leftist thought in twentieth-century America by Richard Rorty ( Book )
12 editions published between 1998 and 2003 in English and French and held by 1,055 libraries worldwide
How have national pride and American patriotism come to seem an endorsement of atrocities - from slavery to the slaughter of Native Americans, from the rape of ancient forests to the Vietnam War? Achieving Our Country traces the sources of this debilitating mentality of shame in the Left, as well as the harm it does to its proponents and to the country. At the center of this history is the conflict between the Old Left and the New that arose during the Vietnam War. Richard Rorty describes how the paradoxical victory of the antiwar movement, ushering in the Nixon years, encouraged a disillusioned generation of intellectuals to pursue "High Theory" at the expense of considering the place of ideas in our common life. In the absence of a vibrant, active Left, the views of intellectuals on the American Right have come to dominate the public sphere. This galvanizing book, adapted from Rorty's Massey Lectures of 1997, takes the first step toward redressing the imbalance in American cultural life by rallying those on the Left to the civic engagement and inspiration needed for "achieving our country."

Philosophy in history : essays on the historiography of philosophy ( Book )
22 editions published between 1984 and 2004 in English and held by 971 libraries worldwide

Objectivity, relativism, and truth by Richard Rorty ( Book )
13 editions published between 1991 and 2008 in English and Dutch and held by 915 libraries worldwide

Philosophy and social hope by Richard Rorty ( Book )
14 editions published between 1999 and 2005 in English and Persian and held by 796 libraries worldwide
"One of the most provocative figures in recent philosophical and wider literary and cultural debate, Richard Rorty brings together in this collection a wide range of philosophical, political and cultural writings, many published in book form for the first time. He explains how he began to move away from Plato towards James and Dewey, culminating in his own version of pragmatism. What matters, he suggests, is not whether our ideas correspond to some fundamental reality but whether they help us carry out practical tasks and create a fairer and more democratic society. In an introduction called 'Relativism' and a (previously unpublished) afterword on the unfortunate popularity of the term 'postmodern', Rorty responds to charges that he is a 'postmodern relativist'."--BOOK JACKET.

Essays on Heidegger and others by Richard Rorty ( Book )
13 editions published between 1991 and 2008 in English and Spanish and held by 784 libraries worldwide

Truth and progress by Richard Rorty ( Book )
12 editions published between 1998 and 2003 in 3 languages and held by 694 libraries worldwide
The essays in the volume engage the work of many of today's most innovative thinkers, including Robert Brandom, Donald Davidson, Daniel Dennett, Jacques Derrida, Jurgen Habermas, John McDowell, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, and Charles Taylor. The collection also touches on problems in contemporary feminism raised by Annette Baier, Marilyn Frye, and Catherine MacKinnon, and considers issues connected with human rights and cultural differences. Anyone with a serious interest in contemporary philosophy and what it can do for us in the modern world will enjoy this invaluable collection.